Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church,
located at 905 Yadkin Street in Kingsport, Tennessee, would
like to invite you to listen to a message of sovereign grace
by their pastor, Gabe Stoniker. And now, Pastor Gabe Stoniker. The message today is going to
come from 1 Thessalonians 5. I would like to read what will
be our text, and that's the first 11 verses of 1 Thessalonians
5. It says, but of the times and
the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I write unto you.
For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh,
as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace
and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them as travail upon
a woman with child, and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren,
are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a
thief. Ye are all the children of light
and the children of the day. We are not of the night nor of
darkness. Therefore, let us not sleep as
do others, but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep,
sleep in the night, and they that be drunken are drunken in
the night. But let us who are of the day
be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and for inhelment
the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us
to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who
died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live
together with him. Wherefore, comfort yourselves
together and edify one another, even as also you do. The Apostle
Paul is writing to the Thessalonians about the day that our Lord comes
back. Our Lord is going to return. And the Apostle told them in
chapter 4, verse 16, he said, the Lord himself shall descend
from heaven with a shout with the voice of the archangel, and
with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain
shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the
Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore,
comfort one another with these words." He said, it is going
to happen. It is going to happen, but when
it's going to happen, he said in chapter five, verse one of
the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I write
unto you. You have no need. Number one,
he's saying that is not needful information. The Lord is coming
back. But when he comes back exactly,
that is not needful information. There is one thing needful. There is only one thing needful. We need to know him. We need to know him. Paul told the Philippians that
I might know him. He said, that's it. That's all
that matters. That I might know him, not days. Paul didn't say, oh, that I might
know days, not days, weeks, months, times, events. People are so
enamored with that. Men write books and write books
and write books and people buy them and they spend their hard
earned money. And it's irrelevant. It is irrelevant. It is not needful
information. There is one thing that we need
to know. Him. Him. Not about Him. Him. We must know Him. Paul told the Corinthians, I
have determined to know nothing among you save Jesus Christ and
Him crucified. Period. That's it. That's all
I've determined to know among you. Paul knew many things. He
was educated in many things. He had a lot of religious education. He threw it all out. He said,
it's dumb. It's irrelevant. I've determined,
he said, to know nothing among you except for Jesus Christ and
him crucified. When he comes back is not an
issue of our eternal salvation. It is not an issue. Our only
concern is that he is coming back. That's our only concern.
That he is coming back and that we know him and are found in
him when he does. That's all of our concern. We
need to know him and we need to be in him. We need to be found
in him. So first Paul is saying, You
have no spiritual need that I write unto you of the times and the
seasons when he will come back. There is no profitable need.
But secondly, he's saying there's no need for me to write of it
because that information is not given to us. No man knows that
information. Men make predictions. and then
they, they, uh, don't come to pass proving that man had no
idea. And then he'll make another prediction
and it doesn't come to pass. Look with me. If you would, at
Matthew chapter 24 in Matthew 24 verse three, It says, as he sat upon the Mount
of Olives, our Lord, as he sat upon the Mount of Olives, the
disciples came unto him privately saying, tell us when shall these
things be and what shall be the sign of thy coming and of the
end of the world? And Jesus answered and said unto
them, take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my
name, saying, I am Christ, and shall deceive many. And you shall
hear of wars and rumors of wars, see that you be not troubled.
For all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against
nation and kingdom against kingdom and there shall be famines and
pestilences and earthquakes in diverse places. All these are
the beginning of sorrows. In verse 29, it says, Immediately
after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened,
and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall
from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken.
And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven,
and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn. and they
shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with
power and great glory. And he shall send his angels
with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together
his elect from the four winds from one end of heaven to the
other." And verse 36 says, But of that day and hour knoweth
no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. Of that day and hour knoweth
no man, no, not the angels of heaven, He said, my father only. No prophet knew it. No prophet
knew it. Men get into the Old Testament
prophets and they're trying to do the math. No prophet knew
it. The apostles did not know it. The apostle Paul couldn't write
it because he did not know it. He said the angels in heaven
do not know it. They are going about their business,
serving His will, knowing that He will come back. He said He
would, but they don't know when. So it is a waste of our time.
It is an absolute waste of time to try to get a calculator out
and start adding up days and weeks and years. That day is
reserved in the mind and the heart of God alone. God's people
are not looking to a day. They're looking to a person.
They're looking to a person. Now, with that being said, if
you're turning in your Bible with me, you may want to hold
your place in Matthew. We're going to come right back.
But in our text, in first Thessalonians five, there are some things that
our Lord has revealed to us about the day that he returns. Verse
one says, but of the times and the seasons, brethren, you have
no need that I write unto you, for yourselves know perfectly
that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. It's
coming as a thief in the night, meaning quickly, with no warning. A thief doesn't make a big announcement.
I'm about to come and break into your house. Quickly, with no
warning. All right, back in Matthew 24,
it says in verse 37, "'But as the days of Noah were, "'so shall
also the coming of the Son of Man be. "'For as in the days
that were before the flood, "'they were eating and drinking, "'marrying
and giving in marriage, "'until the day that Noah entered into
the ark. and knew not until the flood
came and took them all away. So shall also the coming of the
Son of Man be. Then shall two be in the field,
the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be
grinding at the mill, the one shall be taken, and the other
left. Watch therefore, for you know
not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if
the good man of the house had known in what watch the thief
would come, he would have watched and would not have suffered his
house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready, for
in such an hour as you think not, the Son of Man cometh. An old Englishman walked out
of his house one morning and saw his neighbor and he said,
good fellow, do you think the Lord will come back today? And
his neighbor said, I think not. Now let me ask you this question.
I'll ask myself and you also, do you think he's coming back
today? Do you think today is the day? Most every person on this earth
thinks not." Our Lord said in verse 44, be ready. Be ye also ready, for in such
an hour as you think not, the Son of Man cometh. He is coming. Back in 1 Thessalonians 5, verse
3 says, For when they shall say peace and safety, then sudden
destruction cometh upon them as travail upon a woman with
child, and they shall not escape. In verse one, he said ye. In verse two, he said yourselves. In verse three, he said they.
And he said them. He's talking about two different
groups of people. those who are in the blood of
the Lord Jesus Christ and those who are out of the blood of the
Lord Jesus Christ. For them, those who are not under
the blood, he said that day is going to be sudden destruction. I mean sudden destruction. They are going to say, and they
are going to believe that they are in peace and safety. But
he said, sudden destruction is coming to them. And he said,
they shall not escape. They shall not escape. Our Lord
described the destruction in Isaiah 13. And we're not gonna
turn over there right now, but it is difficult to read. If you
have time to read it, you may wanna look at it. It is very,
very difficult to read. It is terrible, terrible destruction. The apostle Paul said in 2 Thessalonians
1, it's just across my page. He said in 2 Thessalonians 1,
verse 6, seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense
tribulation to them that trouble you, And to you who are troubled,
rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven
with His mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them
that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus
Christ, who shall be punished with everlasting destruction
from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power,
when He shall come to be glorified in His saints and to be admired
in all them that believe, because our testimony among you was believed
in that day. This is the God of the Bible.
I am not trying to scare anyone. But I'm trying to be honest and
I'm trying to be truthful with all of us. This is the God of
all heaven and earth. This is the true and living God. This is the God of eternity. This is the God with whom we
have to do. This is the God we're gonna stand
before. This is the God we're gonna stand
before and man has no idea. He has no idea. He's just so
proud of himself and how he's lived and everything he's done.
And he's ready to just run right up to the throne of God and go
stand before him. This is the God we're going to
have to stand before. This God, though, is not being
preached today. Men are not standing up in pulpits
and being honest with people and telling them this is the
God that you're going to have to deal with and I'm going to
have to deal with. There is no fear of God before
the world's eyes. Men are not afraid of God. They're
not. They don't fear what's coming. There's no fear. And the reason
is because this God is not being declared today. He's not being
honestly, truthfully preached, but this is the God that we're
going to have to deal with. And our dealings with him are
either going to be had in Christ or out of Christ. Same God. He's either going to deal with
us in the blood of Christ, in the substitution of the Lord
Jesus Christ or out of Christ. WITHOUT HIS SUBSTITUTION, WITHOUT
HIS BLOOD. EVERY SOUL OUTSIDE OF CHRIST
IS GOING TO EXPERIENCE SUDDEN DESTRUCTION. LET ME JUST BE TRUTHFUL,
BECAUSE THIS IS COMING. EVERY SOUL WHO IS OUTSIDE OF
CHRIST IS GOING TO EXPERIENCE SUDDEN DESTRUCTION. BUT FOR EVERY
SOUL WHO IS IN CHRIST, Oh, for every soul who is in the Lord
Jesus Christ. If you want to look with me at
Hebrews chapter nine, verse 28 says, so Christ was once offered
to bear the sins of many and unto them that look for him shall
he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. For every soul in Christ, it
is going to be sudden redemption. Outside of Christ, sudden destruction. In the Lord Jesus Christ, sudden
redemption. Does that at all give you a heart
to be in Christ? Does that at all make you want
to say, dear God, put me in Christ. I need the Lord Jesus Christ. I need his blood. I need his
righteousness. I need him. I don't need facts
about him. I need him. I need him. Back in our text,
back in first Thessalonians five, Verse four says, but you brethren
are not in darkness that that day should overtake you as a
thief. He's saying to God's people,
that day is not going to come as a shock to you. You're expecting
it. You believe his word. You believe
what he said. You are expecting it. He's coming. A woman with child, that's the
illustration he's given here. A woman with child does not know
when the travail is going to come. She does not know the day
or the hour, but she knows it's coming. She's expecting it to come, and
when it does come, she's not going to be utterly shocked saying,
what in the world is happening to me? She's not going to say
that. He said, you are not in darkness,
meaning ignorance. and also meaning sin. He said
that day is not going to overtake you. If God has revealed Christ to
you and pointed you to him, shown you and shown me that he's it,
he's all, if God has given faith to us and hope in his blood. Then he said in verse five, you
are all the children of light and the children of the day.
We are not of the night nor of darkness. He said, you've been
given the light and the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. If
he's revealed these things, second Corinthians four verse three
says, but if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost.
in whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them
which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ,
who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach
not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your
servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who commanded the light
to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts to give
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. If Christ dwells in us, light
dwells in us. So in first Thessalonians five,
verse six says, therefore, let us not sleep as do others, but
let us watch and be sober. What are we watching for him? We're watching for him. Let's
watch. Let's be watchful and be sober,
meaning serious. serious. Oh, we don't, we don't
gather together in worship before him in a flippant way, in a silly
way, in a casual way. There's nothing casual about
this. Oh, let's be serious. Lord, please let us be serious
about these things. Serious about watching and waiting
and worshiping you. Give us a clear mind fixed on
you, you, only you. Verse seven, for they that sleep,
sleep in the night and they that be drunken are drunken in the
night, but let us who are of the day be sober, putting on
the breastplate of faith and love and for in helmet, the hope
of salvation. The breastplate covers the heart
and the helmet covers the head. He said, let's be sober. watchful
with faith and love in our heart for Christ. And with the confidence of hope
that he has has given us, let's look for him to come and save
us. He is coming back. He's coming back, and he said
for all of his sheep, he's going to pull them out of this cesspool,
this miry clay, and he's going to set us free. Oh, let's watch
those who have been given light to see these things. Verse 9
says, For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation
by our Lord Jesus Christ. God has appointed us if we belong
to him. If he has given us faith in Christ,
then he has appointed us to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ. God's elect. God's elect, those
who were appointed by God to obtain salvation, God's chosen
people, they were all saved in the mind and the will and the
purpose of God before the foundation of the world. They were all saved
in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ when He died on the cross.
God's people are all saved when that gift of faith and he's talking
about that light comes and that faith comes that watching that
soberness. They're all saved when that faith
that comes from God's spirit to a center giving life. And God's people are going to
finally be saved. when they obtain the fullness
of their salvation on the day he comes back. He's going to
come back and gather them to himself. So we have been saved. We're being saved and we're about
to be saved. And that's wonderful. Our Lord,
our Lord Jesus Christ is coming back to gather his purchased
possession. He is coming to gather all of
his purchased possession to himself for an eternal deliverance. That's
what Ephesians 1 verse 12 says, that we should be to the praise
of his glory, who first trusted in Christ, in whom you also trusted
after that you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your
salvation, in whom also after that you believed you were sealed
with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance
until the redemption of the purchased possession unto the praise of
his glory. He is coming back on that particular
day that God knows he is coming back to redeem his purchased
possession. He's coming back to get what
he paid for every soul that he paid for. And in our text, it
goes on to say, verse nine, for God hath not appointed us to
wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who
died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live
together with him. Wherefore, comfort yourselves
together and edify one another, even as also you do. Whether we are of those who are
still on this earth when he returns, or whether this body of death
is going to lay down and he will raise us from the grave, he is
going to gather every soul that he renamed, every single soul. And if he's given us a heart
for Christ, if he's given us eyes to see that he is our only
hope, His blood is our only hope. If we need Him and must have
Him, then we are one of His chosen people. We're one of the saved,
and He's coming back for us. Come quickly, we cry. Till next
week, may the Lord bless His word to our hearts. You have
been listening to a message by Gabe Stoniker, pastor of Kingsport
Sovereign Grace Church in Kingsport, Tennessee. If you would like
a copy of this message or to hear other messages of Sovereign
Grace, log on to our website at ksgctn.org. If you would like to come and
worship with us, our service times are Sunday morning Bible
study at 10 o'clock a.m., worship at 1045 a.m., and 6 o'clock p.m.,
Wednesday evening at 730 p.m. Please tune in next week for
another message of God's free and sovereign grace.